Peña Nieto: A former governor on the path to Mexico's presidency

By the CNN Wire Staff

Updated 0119 GMT (0819 HKT) July 3, 2012

Photos: Tensions follow Mexico election14 photos

Tensions follow Mexico election – Thousands of protesters take to the streets in Mexico City on Monday, a day after the presidential election results were announced. Supporters of the opposition candidate were rallying against Enrique Peña Nieto, who declared victory late Sunday.

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Photos: Tensions follow Mexico election14 photos

Tensions follow Mexico election – Peña Nieto, representing the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), speaks during a press conference Monday in Mexico City. He said it was time for his country to leave behind the political rancor of the campaign season.

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Photos: Tensions follow Mexico election14 photos

Tensions follow Mexico election – Members of the "I Am 132" movement protest on Monday. A video that was uploaded to YouTube helped launch the nationwide student movement, adding fuel to the political frenzy.

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Tensions follow Mexico election – Projected as the runner-up in Sunday's vote, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrado, right, speaks in Mexico City on Monday. He said he was awaiting the official election results and prepared to contest them before judicial authorities if they didn't turn out in his favor.

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Tensions follow Mexico election – A youth activist rallies in Mexico City on Monday. About a third of Mexico's 79.4 million registered voters are between the ages of 18 and 29.

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Tensions follow Mexico election – Peña Nieto celebrates with his family after projections declared him the apparent victor in Mexico's presidential election on Sunday, July 1.

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Tensions follow Mexico election – Peña Nieto's supporters cheer during the victory speech in Mexico City on Sunday. The results would mean a return to power for a party that ruled Mexico for more than 70 years.

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Tensions follow Mexico election – Peña Nieto greets supporters in Mexico City after polls closed and results stacked in his favor early Monday, July 2.

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Tensions follow Mexico election – Peña Nieto, whose political party was ousted by the conservative National Action Party in 2000, addresses supporters Sunday.

Tensions follow Mexico election – Supporters of Lopez Obrador listen on the streets of Mexico City during his news conference Sunday.

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Tensions follow Mexico election – "The last word has yet to be said," Lopez Obrador, a former Mexico City mayor, said Sunday.

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Tensions follow Mexico election – Supporters of the Mexican university student movement "I Am 132" protest in front of police outside the national TV network Televisa during a rally against the PRI and Peña Nieto in Mexico City on Saturday.

His platform included plans to stop the rise in food prices, promote energy reform, give social security to all Mexicans and reduce violence nationwide.

"I propose changing fear for hope. I propose changing Mexico," he said in a presidential debate this year.

While his proposals for reducing violence have played well in Mexico, they sparked some concerned among Republican lawmakers on the other side of the border, who worry he may not be as committed to combating cartels as his predecessor.

Peña Nieto's campaign has said he remains committed to fighting organized crime.

"The law is applied; it is never negotiated," the campaign said in a statement this month.